Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Euthanasia through abortion

Whether he admits it or not, George Tiller effectively killed Christin A. Gilbert in January of 2005. While enduring a 4-day procedure for the late term abortion of her child, Christin suffered fatally from an infection called sepsis. Oddly enough, this case involves so many of the so-called "exception" cases to abortion: conceived through rape, mental disability and late-term.

First, a little background about Christin is necessary. At the time, Christin was a 19-year-old high school student. She also had Downs' Syndrome. She was a much-loved friend and classmate and a star on the school softball team. Her pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault. For whatever reason, the abortion was not sought until she was over 25 weeks pregnant. These three factors rarely find themselves in the same case, however Christin's case is unique and tragic.

Here we have a young woman who loved so openly that she doubtlessly found it easy to trust in others. It is true that many people with Downs' Syndrome find it easy to trust and love. However, her trusting was taken advantage of through a wicked sexual assault.

Imagine for a moment how terrified Christin was. She was in no way ignorant of the circumstances surrounding her. She was a bright girl, and had successfully achieved a high-school education, something many "normal" children are not even able to achieve. Some say that the disabled are unable to process emotions or even have emotional attachments, however it is clear this is not the case with Christin. If Christin was able to achieve so much academically, she could certainly sense the abuse happening to her through out the sexual assault, abortion and medical malpractice leading to her death.

The fear and confusion in the life of this young lady leading up to and during her abortion is simply unacceptable. Terrified after the experience of sexual assault, Christin was led to an abortion clinic, to be left there in the hands of incompetent health care providers.

The solution to the problems present in this case is not to have had her on contraceptives in case such a situation ever happened. Nor is the solution to quickly turn to abortion because of the pregnancy was the result of rape or that it was the child of a disabled person.

The solution is for the family, who loved her enough to welcome her into their lives to accept her pregnancy, explain it to her lovingly, and to continue to love her unconditionally. The solution is to find the perpetrator of her sexual assault and punish him to the fullest extent of the law. The solution is also to guard the lives of the mentally and physically challenged from those who seek to take advantage.

This is a situation I can't help but call "euthanasia through abortion."

Operation Rescue (OR) has provided continuing coverage of the death of Christin. The autopsy confirmed that Christin did indeed die from "complications of therapeutic abortion." However, the details of this case reveal that Christin suffered far too many abuses against her.

If his life's work to destroy the disabled while still in the womb, what would deter him from destroying the life of a disabled patient who is 19 years old? OR speculates about this as well. "Tiller is a man who prides himself of ridding society of the unfit or the imperfect. He describes himself as the "doctor of last resort" for women bearing children with "fetal anomalies" including Downs' Syndrome. He has made it his job to kill disabled people in the womb under the guise of alleviating their "suffering."

While it could be speculated whether she understood that she was pregnant, there is no doubt that she felt the fear and uncertainty of her frantic family. She also was suffering from the trauma of the sexual assault, which only 25 weeks later was further compounded through the late term abortion sought at Tiller's Kansas abortion clinic.

This is a tragic case of failure of society to protect the weak and helpless.